How You Get The Girl
by KillHateAvenge
Summary: A purely sweet Jeyna songfic inspired by Taylor Swift's song about how Jason tries to win Reyna's trust back after he arrives at Camp Jupiter with Piper on his arm.


**AN: Hey guys! This is my first Jeyna fic, and I absolutely am crazily in love with them :) so it has a really long-winded intro before the song starts but hope you like it! I'll try to write more in the holidays... Enjoy and please review!**

**Disclaimer: I definitely do not own Taylor Swift's song or the characters, only my plot. Please don't sue me for being inspired.**

**KillHateAvenge (perhaps I'll change it to something PJ-related, though... :P)**

"Hey," a sweet, smooth voice called from the doorway. Jason looked up, forcing a smile as he was greeted with the face of Piper Mclean, his girlfriend. She was cute without trying—the intentionally cut choppy brown hair and braided strands that framed her pretty face only added to her attractiveness.

"Pipes," Jason greeted in return. Piper frowned at him. She could sense that something was bothering the blond. Sitting down on the bed beside him, she put a hand on his knee and looked into his sky blue eyes with her ever-changing orbs.

"Jason, what's wrong?" the brunette asked gently. Piper knew it was hard for Jason to come back to the home he had forgotten after almost a year of being in a supposedly enemy camp. She bit her lip in worry. "I know it's hard, Jason. Just know that you can tell me anything. I understand…"

"No, you don't." Piper flinched, surprised at Jason's sharp tone. He seemed to notice what he said, and hurriedly tried to console her. "I-I'm sorry, Pipes… I just need some time alone, to think things through."

The daughter of Aphrodite nodded sadly and left the son of Zeus alone in his room, quietly closing the door and leaning on it. She really liked Jason, but he was hard to read. Sometimes he was the perfect boyfriend—charming and polite, but sometimes he was just so distant and difficult to get through to. Piper felt herself slipping charmspeak into her words, albeit not on purpose, with the hopes of breaking down his walls and getting him to just confide in her and talk to her. It hadn't worked. She just felt guilty that she couldn't be a good girlfriend for him.

Jason sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making it dishevelled and spiky. He didn't want to tell Piper so as to not worry her, but he had quite a few things on his mind lately. Firstly, Jason was worried about the arrival of the Argo II—even a dumb faun would know that an enemy warship arriving over a demigod camp (a Roman one, in fact) would not bode well. Secondly, he didn't know how the Romans would treat him. Would they call him a traitor and hate him for leaving them? Did Octavian, that no-good weasel, replace him as praetor? And lastly, Jason's memories were coming back, slowly. There were flashes of his childhood at Camp Jupiter, winning war games with Dakota and Gwen, Bobby riding an elephant, and Reyna. He was sure that Reyna meant a lot to him, though he couldn't quite remember much about the girl apart from her name. Every time he tried to recall a memory with her, it seemed as if Juno, or Hera, refused to give Jason it back. He did remember some vague happenings, though—him defeating the titan Krios, him getting hoisted onto golden shields, him standing on a white marble stage, wearing a golden laurel crown and a purple toga, addressing the Senate. Jason was sure Reyna was involved in most of these memories.

Jason groaned, lying back on his bed. He hated Juno for taking his memories away. And why Reyna? Why could he remember almost everyone from his old life apart from her?

He knew why, though he refused to admit that Juno would really stoop that low. He knew that she wanted a strong Greek-Roman bond between two demigods… him and Piper. Jason sighed. Things were so complicated.

With some difficulty, Jason forced the annoyance and defeat from his demeanour, sitting straight and trying a smile. "I am Jason Grace," he said to himself. "The praetor of Rome, slayer of the Trojan sea monster, the one who defeated the titan Krios to bring down Mount Othrys." The Greeks aboard this very ship were counting on him to bring peace between the two camps, and to convince the Romans that the Argo II crew meant no harm.

However, Jason was almost certain that Reyna, whoever she was, would not be pleased at their arrival.

"Jason!" Annabeth called. Said boy opened one eye to find the pretty blonde leaning casually against his door, inspecting her wicked-looking knife and slipping it back in its sheath. She glanced at his messy state disapprovingly. "We're landing soon."

Again Jason wondered who this Percy Jackson guy was—he already had Jason's respect for managing to make Annabeth, one of the toughest, smartest, bravest girls he knew (no offense to blondes—Annabeth really shattered and stomped on the dumb blonde stereotype) have a crush on him. Jason smiled to himself. Annabeth was awesome, despite her occasional brainiac and judgemental tendencies, and Percy Jackson was lucky to have her. So was Jason—Piper was amazing too.

Fixing himself up, Jason headed out to deck, one hand fiddling with Juno's gladius in anticipation of his homecoming.

Piper smiled at Jason and took his hand to comfort him. Together, they stepped off the Argo II. Jason looked around at the Romans who had gathered—most of them wore shocked expressions, some were smiling… and some were Octavian.

He grinned widely when his gaze settled on Dakota, Gwen, and Bobby, his friends from Camp Jupiter. Gwen was covering her mouth with both hands, her bright emerald eyes threatening to spill tears. Dakota's hand was frozen mid-drink, and Jason laughed to see red Kool-Aid dripping onto the ground.

Jason tore his gaze away from his long-lost friends as a girl approached them. Her lithe, athletic figure was adorned with sweeping purple robes and a fashion much like his own, and a long golden dagger glinted in the sun by her side. The girl, who looked about Jason's age, had sharp, almost black eyes and wore her dark hair in a single braid that hung over her shoulder in a glossy river of black. She was beautiful, and with the golden breastplate shining polished on her torso, she was… breathtaking.

Jason blinked. Where were those thoughts even coming from? By his side was a daughter of Venus, a girl who had gone through so much with him and had stood beside him through one of the most frightening quests he had gone on. He squeezed Piper's hand harder.

The girl blinked and glanced down at his and Piper's entwined hands, her alluring eyes hardening. As she looked back at Jason, he felt a cold shiver run through his veins like electricity. He swallowed and tried to tell himself that he was just imagining things. The girl cleared her throat, and all whispering grew silent.

"I'm Reyna," the girl said.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

O-oh, o-oh, o-oh, o-oh

The memories came flooding back like a river becoming unplugged. The day Reyna arrived, eyes wild and hair unravelling from its braid, but still gripping tightly onto her dagger, posture regal and unwavering like a queen's. The swordfighting lessons in the arena, neither willing to back down despite their hunger and fatigue. Him gradually breaking down her shields and getting her to give him a chance to be friends. Them going on countless quests together, learning to trust each other completely and fighting together against the Trojan sea monster. Spending time alone training in the arena, though she always seemed to be better than him at picking up new techniques.

Then planning their battle, poring over maps for days on end, drawing out routes and assigning places for each Cohort. Fighting on Mount Othrys, back to back, him brandishing his sword and her wielding her spear with mastered skill. The end of the war, him killing the titan Krios, getting hoisted onto the legion's shields and elected as praetor, Reyna, already praetor, smiling wider than ever before and clasping his hand in the air, chanting his name the loudest.

Working together in the principalis for hours and hours, him desperately trying to procrastinate and ask her to take a break while she constantly denied, being the hard-working Roman. Him discovering her secret love of jellybeans, putting a bowl of the goodies on their worktable for them to share. Running out to get coffee, extra strong, for when they would be preoccupied late into the night. Sharing secret eye rolls in the Senate when Octavian rambled on about some useless little detail. Finally getting her to agree to taking a day off and having a picnic with him in the garden of Bacchus, her favourite spot in the camp.

Jason held his head in his hands, punching his bed repeatedly. He was so damn stupid and clueless—he should've seen the way she looked at him and Piper, as if she couldn't believe what she saw, or as if she was angry.

Reyna… Jason needed to do something about her.

Stand there like a ghost

Shaking from the rain

The blond son of Jupiter hurriedly shrugged on a coat and put on a pair of shoes, grabbing the keys to his villa and running outside into the night. It was raining quite heavily, and the moment he rushed out, he was immediately soaked from head to toe. Not caring about the wet or the cold, he ran, numb without feeling except for the pounding of his feet on the muddy ground, letting himself remember the path he used to take that led him to her door. All he knew was that he needed to talk to her.

She'll open up the door

And say, are you insane?

Chest heaving and struggling for breath (mostly out of apprehension than exhaustion), Jason paused at the door to gather his wits. Taking a deep, shaky breath, he knocked on the door. Once, twice… with no answer, his nerves and heartbeat sped up, and soon he was knocking desperately and repeatedly on the door, hoping that she would wake up.

Suddenly, the door swung open, startling Jason mid-knock. It revealed an annoyed Reyna, her eyebrow arched at his behaviour. Jason cringed sheepishly. As they silently surveyed each other, Jason smiled at her purple and black pyjamas. How typical of her. The braid was still there, with a few strands framing her face, and Jason needed to push down the urge to brush them behind her ear.

Reyna's dark eyes grew wide as she looked at the dripping wet boy in front of her. "Jason, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Uh, I need to talk to you, Rey." Jason tried for a charming smile, but failed.

"Um, okay… Come in, you're wet and shivering," Reyna observed, grabbing his arm and pulling the soaking boy into her house. She rushed to get a towel for him.

"Here, dry yourself off. I don't want you getting a cold." Jason gladly accepted the towel and dried his sopping hair, leaving it plastered against his head. He grinned at her tone—she sounded like a mother.

"Why do you care if I have a cold?" he questioned. "You ignored me for the whole of today."

Reyna spun abruptly from where she was making drinks at the kitchen, glaring at Jason. "I wanted to talk to you, Jason. It was you who was too busy showing your girlfriend around camp to spare a few minutes for me." Jason grimaced at her cold, accusing tone. Of course, he shouldn't have had such high hopes—pain couldn't be taken away that quickly. He'd seen Annabeth deal with losing Percy.

"Rey, I'm sorry. I didn't remember anything until tonight. Juno took away my memories so that I would go on a quest to save her."

Reyna didn't even blink at his apology. She sat down on the sofa next to him, setting down two mugs of steaming hot chocolate on the coffee table. "Thanks," Jason smiled, feeling the warm liquid heat up his whole body.

For a moment they sipped, each wrapped up in their thoughts. Reyna broke the silence. "Anyway," she began. "Why did you come in the middle of the night? It's 2am, and it's raining outside."

"Rey, I told you—I just remembered everything. I remembered you. And I came here to talk to you because I couldn't bear being a stranger for one more day."

Reyna nodded, and Jason's heart leaped as the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. "Okay, Jason. You're seriously insane. Now talk."

Say it's been a long eight months

And you were too afraid to tell her what you want

"I know it's been eight months, and you were probably worried and… I don't know. I can't say I understand, because I don't—while you were alone, not knowing where I disappeared to one night, searching for me like crazy, I was oblivious and happy with other people. I'm really sorry, Rey. I shouldn't have left you alone to rule by yourself, especially not with Octavian. I shouldn't have forgotten you, or Camp Jupiter. I shouldn't have let Juno get away with what she did to all of us. I know it's hard to forget this entirely, but I just want you to know that I do want to make this better, to go back to the way we were before this happened, and I'm willing to wait if time is what it takes." Jason breathed in, watching the girl next to him stare at her drink intently, contemplating her next move. She looked serene and peaceful, yet tough and intelligent… absolutely beautiful.

"Jason, that was… Um, you were right. You don't know how I felt when you left me without a trace or any sign of where you disappeared to. And I hate that you were happy somewhere else, in an enemy camp, while I had to go through it alone. But… it's not all your fault. Juno did this. She set you up with this girl and put fake memories in her head to force you together."

Jason frowned. He was glad that she didn't blame him entirely, but she was holding something back from him. "Rey, look. I'm confused too. I can't blame Juno for Piper and me… I-I like her, Rey. I do. She's amazing. But now, there's you, too, and I don't know what to do…"

Reyna looked up at the blond, her eyes stony. "If you're confused, then just stay with her. You always liked Venus girls anyway. I don't need you to survive."

Jason gulped. "I know, Rey. You're the strongest person I know. But the truth is that I felt… something for you before Juno kidnapped me. We've been through so much together. I wouldn't be able to live without you. I… I wanted to ask you to have coffee together in New Rome, but timing just isn't really on my side." Reyna looked up at him, her eyes warmer now. Lifting a hand up, she tenderly brushed a strand of wet blond hair from Jason's forehead.

And then you say

I want you for worse or for better

I would wait for ever and ever

"Well, I think I've made up my mind, Rey. I want you. It won't be the fairytale ending that Piper and I may have, and it won't be perfect. We'll have our highs and our lows, and we'll fight all the time. But the imperfectness will just make the nice moments all the more special. Yeah, I know I'm being super cheesy and weird, but when it comes to you, I'd wait forever. Just like you waited for me when I was gone, and refused to declare me dead or give up the search."

Broke your heart, I'll put it back together

I would wait for ever and ever

"I know I hurt you, so much. And it's really hard to forgive me for moving on and forgetting you. I won't blame Juno, it's my fault too. Piper is great, and I don't want to break her heart, but I know I broke yours, too. I promise I'll try to make her understand. I want to mend everything, fix it so that we can go back to the way we were… I said that before, but I'm being honest and sincere and it's true. I'd wait forever if that's what it takes for you to forgive me."

And that's how it works

That's how you get the girl, oh

Reyna shifted closer to Jason and stared at him for what seemed to the boy to be forever. Then, she smiled slightly. "Jason…" Reyna gulped and looked down at her interlaced hands. "Thanks for… telling me that."

Jason looked at her in bewilderment. "Rey, don't you have anything else to say?" he asked softly, hoping to get more out of the girl who used to trust him with anything, even her life. The girl who used to be his best friend, who eventually stole his heart. But all that was in the past—before Juno took him away, before he arrived at Camp Half-Blood, before… before Piper. He choked back a miserable sob. He'd lost her. Sitting before Jason was a different girl—looking the same, as beautiful yet mysterious as before, with the same single, glossy raven black braid, her eyes the same dark pools Jason could drown in. Yet, even as they sat together, barely a metre apart, he had never felt so far from Reyna in his entire life.

Reyna glanced up. "Jason, I know you mean that all, but… what's done is done. You can't just erase all that with a few words. And besides, what about Piper? Juno obviously meant for you two to be together, and she—she's your patron. You can't disobey her… not for me, Jason. Be with Piper. She seems… great. You'd make the perfect couple."

Jason could sense the bitterness in her voice as she said the word "perfect", and it gave him a tiny morsel of hope. However, Reyna had made it quite clear that she wasn't quite ready to forgive and forget yet.

Remind her how it used to be

With pictures in frames, of kisses on cheeks

He took a deep breath. Jason wasn't really confident in his memories, but he knew that he had to try everything, anything, if he was to win Reyna's trust back.

"Rey, please. You can't just throw everything away. Everything we had… Look," Jason pulled a wad of photos that he had found in his villa out of his pocket, spreading them out on the table. Reyna glanced at them, her eyes watery and sad.

"Here's one of us in the arena, training. That was when you'd just arrived and weren't ready to trust any of us yet," Jason pointed. Their golden swords were crossed and their hair was dripping with sweat, but on they fought.

Reyna smiled at the memory. "And this is when we won the war games together," she reminisced, picking up a photo of them, Bobbly, Dakota and Gwen cheering and hugging.

Jason grinned as well, feeling that he was starting to get through to the stoic praetor. "Here was after we finished our first quest together, when I saved your podex and we became friends." Reyna laughed at the photo of them making silly faces at the camera, Jason's arm around her shoulders. Jason watched his best friend, smiling at her laugh. "Rey, you need to laugh more. I miss it."

She shook her head. "Jase, this is all in the past. We were close then, but… I can't shake the feeling that it will never be the same again."

Jason sighed, and showed her another picture. It was of Jason kissing Reyna on the cheek, her looking flustered and surprised. Gwen and Dakota stood laughing in the background at her reaction—Jason remembered that they had dared him to do it, since they were vaguely aware of his growing feelings for his fellow praetor.

Tell her how you must've lost your mind

When you left her all alone

And never told her why

"Rey, I understand, but please, give me a chance. I know I was crazy to let Juno take me away without telling you where I went. And I'm sorry for not remembering you. But now I'm trying to right my wrongs, and honestly, it's Juno's fault for making me save the world."

This coaxed a small smile from Reyna. She sighed.

And that's how it works  
>That's how you lost the girl<p>

"I need you, Rey. I want you back. I'm giving Piper up for you." Jason was becoming desperate now. Maybe… maybe he'd lost her. Forever. The most important person in his whole life was now out of his grasp. He felt his heart sink.

And now you say

I want you for worse or for better

I would wait for ever and ever

Broke your heart, I'll put it back together

I would wait for ever and ever

"Rey, all I'm saying is I want you for worse or for better. I broke your heart, and I want to put it back together. I'd wait for ever and ever, because that's how much you mean to me."

And that's how it works

That's how you get the girl, oh

Reyna finally looked into Jason's blue orbs, her front teeth snagging her bottom lip in the way that always drove Jason crazy. She hesitated for a second… and then threw her arms around the startled blond boy.

"I miss you so much, Jase. If you really mean all that… then yeah. I'm willing. It will take some time, but you'd wait forever, right?"

Jason wrapped his arms around Reyna's slim waist, and hugged her tight. He laughed, vowing to never let her go again.

"Yeah, I guess I did say that," he said, burying his face in her hair. It still smelled of lemongrass like in his blurred dreams, tangy and sweeter than ever before.

**Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!**


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